Aerial tramway



(No Mogel.) 2. 'Sheets-Sheet 1.

L. "JOHNSON, AERIAL TRA-MWAY.

No. 523,895. Patented July 31, 1894.

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L'. JOHNSON;

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W12/VESSEL? l[Jl/757170Z? Alianza] UNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE.

LEVI JOHNSON, OF NEMAHA CITY, NEBRASKA.

AERIAL TRAIVIWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part `of Letters Patent No. 523,895, dated July31, 1894.

Application filed April 13, 1894.

.To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, LEVI JOHNSON, a lcitizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Nemaha City, in the county of Nemaha and State ofNebraska, have invented certain new andusefullmprovementsinAerialTramways; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in io the art to which it appertainsto make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a partof this specification. p This invention relates to improvements inaerial tramways, and it has for its object to provide means forsuspending a canfrom cables and to provide cables which engage withdriven wheels carried by the car, said wheels zo being adapted to berotated so as to draw the car from one end of the tramway to the other.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is aplan view, and

z 5 Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken on .the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

' A A designates upright posts which are located at each end of thetramway and support the cables; these posts being braced by 3o pieces aand c which extend from the sill pieces A to the posts as shown. i

B designates the platforms which arebuilt between the posts or uprightspreferably at a slight inclination, and it is not necessary that theseplatforms should be wider than the width of the conveyance-or car. Oneend of each platform terminates in a cross-piece B with which hookspivoted tothe car engage when the car abuts against the platform. Theposts A are provided at theirv upper ends with suitable pulleys overwhich pass the supporting cables C, the ends of the cables beinganchored and provided with means for tightening the same. On each sideof the stream or ravine which it is desired to cross similar permanentstructures, hereinbefore described are provided.

D designates the car or conveyance to the side pieces of which arepivoted hooks d 5o which are adapted to engage with the cross- SerialNo. 507,499. (No model.)

piece B of the platform so as tohold the car in engagement therewithWhile being loaded lor unloaded. To the side pieces lof the car areattached rods e c which carry at their upper ends pulleys E adapted totravel over the supporting cables O C and suspend the car therefrom.

F F designate iexible connections which extend from the posts A engagingwith drums supported thereby, the shafts of the drums 6o havingcrank-handles and ratchet-Wheels for preventing backward rotation.

The cables C O which extend from the posts A are a considerable distanceapart so that A the rods or supports e which extend there- .from willconverge toward the car, and the cables or flexible connections F arenot so far apart and pass around grooved pulleys D journaled in the sidepieces of the car. The shafts which support the pulleys D carry 7odriven pulleys over which pass belts extending from pulleys mounted onthe superstructure of the car; said superstructure consisting v ofAuprights D2 upon which is supported a cover or top D3. The pulleysreferred to are mounted on a shaft journaled in bearings attached to thecover or top andare preferably driven by an operator sitting on the topof the car.

In operation the car is suspended from the 8o cables C C and the weightof the same tends to draw the cables toward each other. The cables Fwhich are permanently fastened at their ends to the posts A and drumhereinbefore referred to are passed around the pulleys 8 5 D carried bythe car and when these pulleys are turned in either direction by themechanism deseribed the car will be moved to one of the platforms andthe hooks carried thereby caused to engage the cross-piece B; 9o whenthe car is loaded for another trip the hooks are released and 'thepulleys D properly turned to cause the car to travel across the streamor ravine to the other side.

This device is intended to take the place of expensive bridges, and isused at such points where the travel would not justify the building ofbridges.

I am aware that prior to my invention it has been proposed to provideaerial tramways Ico comprising overhead ways from which a car issuspended and an operating rope for the car extending from one end ofthe tramway to the other, and Itherefore do not claim such inventionbroadly; but

What I do claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an aerial tramwayLthe combination, of the supporting posts A Ahaving cables which extend parallel with each other from post to post,operating cables or flexible connections also extending from thesupporting posts and secured thereto so as to be of less distance apartthan the supporting cables, together with a car having supporting rodswhich extend from pulleys mounted on the supporting cables andconverging therefrom to the car to which they are connected, and pulleyscarried by the car around which the operating cables or llexibleconnections pass,

substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with the supporting posts having cables C C and drumsover which pass cables F F, of a car D having supporting rods e econnected to pulleys E E which travel upon the cables C C, pulleys Dcarried by the side pieces of the car, said pulleys being adapted to berotated in unison, the cables F being passed around said pulleys,together with hooks dd pivoted to the car and cross-pieces B secured tothe supporting posts, substantially as shown and for the purpose setforth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LEVI JOHNSON.

Witnesses: i

E. A. BOURNE, ELMORE TANN.

